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5. Diversity

This appendix examines employment patterns for key diversity groups in the Australian Public Service (APS). In particular it provides details from the APS Employment Database (APSED), State of the Service Agency Survey (agency survey) and APS Employee Census (employee census) data on Indigenous employees, employees with disability, employees from a non-English speaking background, mature age employees and women (including women in senior leadership).

Disclosure

The low rate of employee disclosure in relation to diversity continues to be an issue for the APS. To improve the collection of diversity data, amendments to the Australian Public Service Commissioner's Directions came into effect from 1 July 2013. These changes require agencies to ask all employees for diversity information while providing a ‘choose not to give this information’ option.

Of the data provided by agencies to APSED as at the end of June 2014, Indigenous status was not available for 22.2% of all employees (up from 21.4% last year). This includes 9.2% that chose not to give this information and 13.0% where no data had been provided. At the end of June 2014, disability status was not available for 29.3% of all employees (up from 28.7% last year). Of those, 4.9% chose not to give this information and for 24.5% no data had been provided.1 The absence of data for diversity status highlights a gap in agencies' collection and reporting of data to APSED.

In the 2014 employee census, 2.6% of all respondents (2.5% of ongoing employees) identified as Indigenous, compared with 2.4% reported in agencies' human resource (HR) systems and provided to APSED. The majority of Indigenous respondents (84%) reported they had disclosed this information, while 7% chose not to inform their agency, 2% reported they had never been asked for this information (down from 3% last year), 3% did not disclose for another reason and 5% were unsure whether they had disclosed the information.2

In 2014, 7.2% of employee census respondents identified as having some form of disability, compared with 3.1% in agencies' HR systems. Over half of respondents (54%) reported they had disclosed this information, while 14% chose not to inform their agency, 12% reported they had never been asked for this information (down from 13% last year), 5% did not disclose for another reason and 16% were unsure whether they had disclosed the information.3

Diversity representation

Section 18 of the Public Service Act 1999 (Public Service Act) requires agency heads to establish workplace diversity programmes, to assist in giving effect to the APS Employment Principles. Table 5.1 shows that 69% of APS agencies (covering 86% of the workforce) had such a programme in place for at least part of their agency in 2013–14, a decline from 75% last year. Machinery-of-government changes may account for some of this reduction. Of these agencies, 43% made the programme available on their website which is unchanged from last year.

Table A5.2 shows those agencies that did not have a workplace diversity programme this year. A further 25 agencies (covering 13% of the workforce) reported that they were in the process of developing workplace diversity programmes.

Indigenous employment

The APS has an ongoing commitment to employing Indigenous Australians and continues to work towards the Indigenous employment target of 2.7% by 2015. The Australian Public Service Commission (the Commission) is responsible for the APS Indigenous Employment Strategy 2012–16 (the Strategy). The Strategy is aimed at supporting and enhancing agencies' Indigenous employment strategies and Indigenous representation by providing initiatives that focus on the attraction, recruitment, retention and career development of Indigenous Australians. Similar to last year, only 29% of agencies reported having a formal Indigenous Employment Strategy in 2013–14 and 40% of these made it available on their website (an increase from 34% last year).

Table A5.3 shows the representation of Indigenous employees in the APS from 2010 to 2014. As can be seen, the proportion of ongoing and non-ongoing Indigenous employees as reported in agencies' HR systems remained unchanged from last year at 2.4%. The proportion of ongoing and non-ongoing Indigenous employees as reported in the employee census also remained the same at 2.6%.

Table A5.3 Representation of Indigenous employees in the APS, 2010 to 2014

Employment type

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

APSED

APSED

APSED

Census

APSED

Census

APSED

Census

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

%

Source: APSED, employee census

Indigenous employees —ongoing and non-ongoing

4,094

2.5

3,936

2.4

3,916

2.3

2,104

2.4

3,931

2.4

2,594

2.6

3,843

2.4

2,378

2.6

Indigenous employees —ongoing

3,564

2.4

3,443

2.2

3,392

2.2

1,944

2.4

3,444

2.3

2,445

2.5

3,387

2.3

2,242

2.5

Note: Comparable employee census data not available for 2010 and 2011. APSED data is at 30 June.

Table A5.4 shows the representation of Indigenous employees in the APS by classification. The highest proportion of ongoing Indigenous employees are at the entry and junior levels, notably at the trainee classification.

Table A5.4. Representation of Indigenous employees in the APS by classification as at 30 June, 2014

Classification

Indigenous employees—ongoing and non-ongoing

Indigenous employees—ongoing

N

% of classification

N

% of classification

Source: APSED

Trainee

127

33.9

122

33.2

Graduate

33

2.8

33

2.8

APS 1

325

6.5

121

15.2

APS 2

298

5.7

242

7.5

APS 3

708

3.6

606

3.8

APS 4

922

3.0

882

2.9

APS 5

552

2.6

539

2.6

APS 6

449

1.4

434

1.4

EL 1

307

1.1

291

1.1

EL 2

101

0.8

97

0.8

SES 1

19

1.0

18

0.9

SES 2

2

0.4

2

0.4

SES 3

.

.

.

.

Total

3,843

2.4

3,387

2.3

In 2013–14, the Commission worked in partnership with over 40 agencies to provide employment pathways for 111 Indigenous Australians through the APS Indigenous Pathways Program. The program promotes the APS as an employer of choice to Indigenous job seekers and provided entry-level opportunities for Indigenous trainees (51), cadets (31) and graduates (29).

In June 2014, the Commission strengthened the role of APS Indigenous Liaison Officers (ILOs) to include pre and post-recruitment support and advice for Indigenous candidates. A feature of this role was the provision of face-to-face support to all trainees who were recruited through the APS Indigenous Pathways Program. Additionally, ILOs liaised directly with agency HR managers to coordinate four forums designed to share Indigenous employment strategies, success stories and learnings.

As part of the retention measures under the Strategy, the Commission ran a series of Indigenous employee forums across urban and regional Australia. The forums provided an opportunity for new Indigenous employees to network with more experienced APS employees. The forums were also an important mechanism in understanding the employment experiences of Indigenous employees to ensure the support provided is relevant to their needs. However, agency support for their Indigenous employees to attend these forums varied.

Engagements and separations

Due to reduced APS engagements in 2013–14, Indigenous engagements as a proportion of all ongoing APS engagements (7.0%) outweighed Indigenous separations as a proportion of all ongoing APS separations (3.5%). In terms of numbers of employees, however, 326 Indigenous employees were engaged in 2013–14, while 393 separated.

Figure A5.1 shows ongoing Indigenous employee engagements and separations from 2005 to 2014. Indigenous employee engagements increased from 5.1% in 2012–13 to 7.0% in 2013–14 as a proportion of all engagements. There has been a consistent increase in this proportion since 2010–11.

Figure A5.2 shows separations of ongoing Indigenous employees and the rest of the APS by type. In 2013–14, Indigenous employees were more likely to resign than other employees (55.7% compared with 35.5%) and were less likely to leave the APS at age retirement than other employees (6.6% compared with 17.7%). Indigenous employees were also more likely to have their employment terminated (6.6%) than other employees (1.2%). These findings highlight that the retention of Indigenous employees remains an issue for the APS.

In 2013, the Commission developed an online exit survey that has been made available to all APS agencies. The uptake has been slow (only 30 agencies are actively participating) and less than 2% of respondents (30 of 1,595) have identified as Indigenous. The small sample of Indigenous employees complicates analysis, however initial work suggests that Indigenous employees are more likely to work for another APS or Australian Government agency, the not-for-profit sector or be unemployed when they leave their agency. There are no statistically significant differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous employees on any of the organisational 'push' or 'pull' factors4, or personal factors for leaving their agency.

The employment experience

The following section presents employee census results for a number of key workforce satisfaction and engagement items.

Figure A5.3 shows that Indigenous employees have slightly higher levels of engagement across three components of the model—team, supervisor, agency—compared with other employees, although the difference is minor. This result is consistent with the previous two years.

Table A5.5 shows Indigenous employees were generally positive about their employment experiences. Notably, however, Indigenous employees were considerably more likely than other APS employees to report they had been bullied or harassed in the workplace (23% compared with 16%). Indigenous employees were more likely to indicate they had reported the bullying/harassment than other employees (44% compared with 37%).

Indigenous employees were also slightly less likely to agree that people in their work group are accepting of people from diverse backgrounds than other employees (83% compared with 88%).

Table A5.5. Key employee census results—Indigenous employees, 2014

Employee census question

Indigenous employees

Rest of APS

Agreed (%)

Agreed (%)

Source: Employee census

I enjoy the work in my current job

78

77

I have a good immediate supervisor

79

79

I am fairly remunerated (e.g. salary, superannuation) for the work I do

65

68

The people in my work group are accepting of people from diverse backgrounds

83

88

In my agency, the senior leadership is of a high quality

55

51

During the last 12 months, have you been subjected to harassment or bullying in your workplace

23

16

Employees with disability

People with disability are underrepresented in the Australian workforce and face multiple barriers to full participation in Australia's economic and social life. The National Disability Strategy 2010–20 sets out a 10-year national policy framework to improve employment outcomes for people with disability across Australia. The As One—APS Disability Employment Strategy (As One) is part of this national strategy to include people with disability in public sector employment, and make the APS a more inclusive and confident employer of people with disability.

The APS has continued the implementation of As One in 2013–14. Most notable among these initiatives has been the RecruitAbility scheme and the release of a mental health guide for managers: Working Together: Promoting mental health and well-being at work.5 The RecruitAbility scheme supports people with disability applying for jobs in the APS by facilitating the progression of applicants with disability to further assessment, when they opt into the scheme and meet the minimum requirements for the position. In June 2013, 16 agencies (covering 69% of the workforce) participated in the pilot. The scheme was also applied in 11 graduate programmes. The pilot has been affected by the interim recruitment arrangements for the APS, as RecruitAbility relies on mainstream recruitment opportunities. Subject to a final evaluation, the scheme will eventually be offered to all APS agencies. Additionally, the Commission published the first of a series of online videos in September 2014 called Leading the Way.6 The videos feature senior leaders in the APS discussing the engagement and development of employees with disability, including challenging attitudes about people with disability in the community.

Across the APS, 32% of agencies (covering 89% of the workforce) had a formal strategy in 2013–14 for the employment of people with disability, a slight increase from last year (30%). Of the measures used to promote the employment of people with disability, the majority of agencies report they provided clear processes for employees to request reasonable adjustments (60%), although a smaller proportion identified a Senior Executive Service (SES) employee to act as a senior level advocate (48%).

Over the past 15 years, the representation of ongoing and non-ongoing employees who identify as having disability declined from 4.8% in 1999 to 3.1% in 2014. Table A5.6 shows the representation of employees who identify as having disability in the APS from 2010 to 2014 and Table A5.7 shows the representation of employees with disability in the APS by classification as at June 2014.

Table A5.6. Representation of employees reporting disability in the APS as at 30 June, 2010 to 2014

Employment type

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

%

Source: APSED

Employees reporting disability—ongoing and non-ongoing

5,246

3.2

5,117

3.1

5,030

3.0

4,926

2.9

4,971

3.1

Employees reporting disability—ongoing

5,021

3.3

4,895

3.2

4,796

3.1

4,681

3.1

4,778

3.3

Table A5.7. Representation of employees reporting disability in the APS by classification as at 30 June, 2014

Classification

Employees reporting disability—ongoing and non-ongoing

Employees reporting disability—ongoing

N

% of classification

N

% of classification

Source: APSED

Trainee

8

2.1

8

2.2

Graduate

28

2.4

28

2.4

APS 1

143

2.9

99

12.5

APS 2

214

4.1

182

5.6

APS 3

482

2.5

422

2.6

APS 4

1,281

4.1

1,263

4.2

APS 5

673

3.2

670

3.2

APS 6

999

3.1

984

3.1

EL 1

756

2.7

748

2.8

EL 2

328

2.6

316

2.6

SES 1

45

2.3

45

2.4

SES 2

11

2.0

10

1.9

SES 3

3

2.3

3

2.6

Total

4,971

3.1

4,778

3.3

Engagements and separations

Figure A5.4 shows the engagements and separations of employees who identify as having disability as a proportion of all ongoing engagements and separations. Employees with disability represented 2.5% of engagements in 2013–14, an increase from 2.2% in 2012–13. Employees with disability constituted 4.8% of separations (down from 5.1% in 2012–13).

Figure A5.5 shows separations by type for ongoing employees who identify as having disability compared to other APS employees. Employees reporting disability were less likely than other employees to resign (19.1% compared to 36.2%) and were more likely to separate from the APS at age retirement than other employees (22.6% compared to 17.3%).

The employment experience

The following section presents employee census results for a number of key workforce satisfaction and engagement items.

Figure A5.6 shows engagement levels across all four components of the employee engagement model—job, team, supervisor, agency—are lower for employees identifying as having disability than for other APS employees. This is a similar result to last year. Despite this finding, however, employee engagement has continued to gradually improve since 2012 for employees reporting disability.

Table A5.8 shows employees reporting disability have different employment experiences to the rest of the APS. Employees reporting disability consistently indicated lower satisfaction with the work they do, their immediate supervisor, remuneration, their work group, and the senior leadership in their agency. They were also twice as likely to report they had been bullied or harassed in the past 12 months (30% compared with 15%), a slight increase from last year (29%). The Commission is planning further research in 2015 to gain more insight into these findings.

I am fairly remunerated (e.g. salary, superannuation) for the work I do

60

68

The people in my work group are accepting of people from diverse backgrounds

82

88

In my agency, the senior leadership is of a high quality

43

52

During the last 12 months, have you been subjected to harassment or bullying in your workplace

30

15

Employees from a non-English speaking background

Employees from a non-English speaking background (NESB) are made up of two groups in APSED: NESB 1 and NESB 2. NESB 1 refers to people born overseas who arrived in Australia after the age of five and whose first language was not English (migrants). NESB 2 refers to children of migrants including:

those who were born overseas and arrived in Australia when they were aged five or younger but did not speak English as a first language

those who were Australian born but did not speak English as a first language and had at least one parent that did not speak English as a first language

those who were Australian born and had neither parent speaking English as a first language.

Table A5.9 shows that in 2013–14, as a proportion of all APS employees, the representation of ongoing and non-ongoing employees from a non-English speaking background remained unchanged from last year at 15.5%. Similarly, when considered separately, NESB 1 and NESB 2 ongoing and non-ongoing employees showed no change in representation as a proportion of all APS employees in 2013–14.

Table A.5.9 Representation of ongoing and non-ongoing employees from a non-English speaking background in the APS as at 30 June, 2010 to 2014

Status

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

%

Source: APSED

NESB (1 & 2)

24,613

15.0

25,540

15.4

26,174

15.6

25,831

15.5

24,658

15.5

NESB 1

8,310

5.1

8,730

5.3

8,953

5.3

8,850

5.3

8,442

5.3

NESB 2

16,303

9.9

16,810

10.1

17,221

10.2

16,981

10.2

16,216

10.2

Table A5.10 shows the proportion of ongoing APS employees who identified as being from a non-English speaking background. When considered separately, NESB 1 and NESB 2 ongoing employees experienced small increases in representation as a proportion of all APS employees. Table A5.11 details the representation of ongoing and non-ongoing employees from a non-English speaking background by classification.

Table A5.10. Representation of ongoing employees from a non-English speaking background in the APS as at 30 June, 2010 to 2014

Status

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

%

Source: APSED

NESB (1 & 2)

22,675

15.0

23,661

15.4

24,219

15.7

24,115

15.8

23,235

15.9

NESB 1

7,681

5.1

8,076

5.3

8,302

5.4

8,284

5.4

7,957

5.5

NESB 2

14,994

9.9

15,585

10.2

15,917

10.3

15,831

10.4

15,278

10.5

Table A5.11. Representation of ongoing and non-ongoing employees from a non-English speaking background in the APS by classification as at 30 June, 2014

Classification

NESB (1 & 2)

NESB 1

NESB 2

N

% of classification

N

% of classification

N

% of classification

Source: APSED

Trainee

10

2.7

2

0.5

8

2.1

Graduate

163

14.1

24

2.1

139

12.0

APS 1

509

10.2

157

3.2

352

7.1

APS 2

720

13.8

224

4.3

496

9.5

APS 3

3,266

16.8

1,105

5.7

2,161

11.1

APS 4

4,966

16.1

1,629

5.3

3,337

10.8

APS 5

3,420

16.1

1,129

5.3

2,291

10.8

APS 6

5,564

17.0

2,003

6.1

3,561

10.9

EL 1

4,321

15.5

1,617

5.8

2,704

9.7

EL 2

1,545

12.2

513

4.1

1,032

8.2

SES 1

136

7.0

31

1.6

105

5.4

SES 2

32

5.8

6

1.1

26

4.7

SES 3

6

4.7

2

1.6

4

3.1

Total

24,658

15.5

8,442

5.3

16,216

10.2

Ongoing employees from a non-English speaking background were most likely to be employed between the APS 3 to Executive Level (EL) 1 classifications (Table A5.12).

Table A5.12. Representation of ongoing employees from a non-English speaking background in the APS by classification as at 30 June, 2014

Classification

NESB (1 & 2)

NESB 1

NESB 2

N

% of classification

N

% of classification

N

% of classification

Source: APSED

Trainee

10

2.7

2

0.5

8

2.2

Graduate

162

14.0

24

2.1

138

11.9

APS 1

107

13.5

39

4.9

68

8.6

APS 2

469

14.4

153

4.7

316

9.7

APS 3

2,944

18.5

990

6.2

1,954

12.3

APS 4

4,874

16.3

1,595

5.3

3,279

11.0

APS 5

3,355

16.2

1,110

5.4

2,245

10.9

APS 6

5,428

17.0

1,940

6.1

3,488

11.0

EL 1

4,217

15.5

1,571

5.8

2,646

9.7

EL 2

1,497

12.2

494

4.0

1,003

8.2

SES 1

136

7.1

31

1.6

105

5.5

SES 2

30

5.6

6

1.1

24

4.5

SES 3

6

5.1

2

1.7

4

3.4

Total

23,235

15.9

7,957

5.5

15,278

10.5

Engagements and separations

Figure A5.7 shows engagements and separations for ongoing employees from a non-English speaking background as a proportion of all ongoing engagements and separations. Separations exceed engagements for this group for the first time in several years. In 2013–14, people from a non-English speaking background represented 12.2% of all engagements, indicating a continuous decline since a peak in 2010–11. Employees from a non-English speaking background constituted 13.3% of all separations from the APS in 2013–14.

In 2013–14, NESB 1 employees constituted 3.3% of all engagements and NESB 2 employees constituted 8.9% of all engagements, a decline from the previous year (4.9% and 10.0% respectively). As a proportion of all separations, NESB 1 employees represented 4.4% of all separations and NESB 2 employees represented 8.9% of all separations, a minor increase from last year (4.0% and 8.8% respectively).

Figure A5.8 shows the separation activity of employees from a non-English speaking background by type of separation. In 2013–14, these employees were more likely to be retrenched than the rest of the APS (44.9% compared with 41.0%) and were less likely to resign than other employees (31.8% compared with 36.9%). Employees from a non-English speaking background were also slightly more likely to leave the APS at age retirement (18.3%) than other employees (17.1%).

The employment experience

The following section presents employee census results for a number of key workforce satisfaction and engagement items. Employees from non-English speaking backgrounds are defined in the employee census as those born overseas and whose first language was not English.7

Figure A5.9 shows employees from a non-English speaking background indicate similar levels of engagement as other employees, although agency engagement is slightly higher for employees from a non-English speaking background.

Table A5.13 shows employees from a non-English speaking background have similar employee experiences to the rest of the APS. Employees from non-English speaking backgrounds, however, were less likely to agree that the people in their work group are accepting of people from diverse backgrounds (85% compared to 89%) and that they were fairly remunerated (60% compared to 69%) than other APS employees.

I am fairly remunerated (e.g. salary, superannuation) for the work I do

60

69

The people in my work group are accepting of people from diverse backgrounds

85

89

In my agency, the senior leadership is of a high quality

53

51

During the last 12 months, have you been subjected to harassment or bullying in your workplace

15

17

Mature age employees

For the purposes of this report, mature age employees are defined as aged 50 years and over. Table A5.14 shows the representation of mature age employees in the APS from 2010 to 2014. The proportion of ongoing and non-ongoing mature age employees increased slightly from 30.3% last year to 31.3% this year. Figure 5.10 shows that mature age employees have been rising as a proportion of the APS workforce for the last decade.

Table A5.14. Representation of mature age employees as at 30 June, 2010 to 2014

Employment type

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

%

Source: APSED

Mature age employees—ongoing and non-ongoing

45,251

27.5

47,182

28.4

49,573

29.5

50,688

30.3

49,823

31.3

Mature age employees—ongoing

42,247

28.0

43,968

28.7

45,526

29.5

46,381

30.5

45,748

31.4

Table A5.15 shows the representation of mature age employees in the APS by classification. Mature age employees are highly represented at SES classifications. This may be an indication of the level of experience and knowledge expected in these senior roles.

Table A5.15. Representation of mature age employees by classification as at 30 June, 2014

Classification

Mature age employees—ongoing and non-ongoing

Mature age employees—ongoing

N

% of classification

N

% of classification

Source: APSED

Trainee

6

1.6

6

1.6

Graduate

4

0.3

4

0.3

APS 1

2,028

40.8

288

36.3

APS 2

2,061

39.6

1,350

41.6

APS 3

5,726

29.4

5,213

32.7

APS 4

8,649

28.0

8,411

28.1

APS 5

6,091

28.7

5,997

29.0

APS 6

9,698

29.7

9,464

29.7

EL 1

8,808

31.6

8,553

31.5

EL 2

5,310

42.0

5,076

41.5

SES 1

959

49.2

929

48.7

SES 2

383

69.3

367

69.0

SES 3

100

78.1

90

76.9

Total

49,823

31.3

45,748

31.4

Engagements and separations

Figure A5.10 shows the engagements and separations of mature age employees in the APS as a proportion of all ongoing engagements and separations. Mature age employees represented 12% of all ongoing engagements in 2013–14, an increase from 10.8% in 2012–13. Mature age employees constituted 52.3% of all ongoing separations in 2013–14 (up from 48.7% in 2012–13).

Figure A5.10. Engagements and separations—mature age employees, 2005 to 2014

Figure A5.11 shows separations by type for ongoing mature age employees in the APS. Mature age employees were more likely to be retrenched (51.1% compared with 31.0%) than other APS employees. Of the mature age employees that separated during 2013–14, 33.0% departed at age retirement.

Figure A5.11. Separations of ongoing mature age employees by type of separation, 2013–14

The employment experience

The following section presents employee census results for a number of key workforce satisfaction and engagement items.

Figure A5.12 shows engagement levels for mature age employees for three components—job, team and agency—are slightly higher than for other APS employees. However, mature age employees showed slightly lower levels of supervisor engagement than the rest of the APS.

Table A5.16 shows mature age employees are generally positive about their employment experiences. Notably, however, mature age employees were less likely than other APS employees to agree that their senior leadership is of a high quality (48% compared with 54%).

Table A5.16. Key employee census results—mature age employees, 2014

Employee census question

Mature age employees

Rest of APS

Agreed (%)

Agreed (%)

Source: Employee census

I enjoy the work in my current job

78

77

I have a good immediate supervisor

77

80

I am fairly remunerated (e.g. salary, superannuation) for the work I do

67

68

The people in my work group are accepting of people from diverse backgrounds

87

89

In my agency, the senior leadership is of a high quality

48

54

During the last 12 months, have you been subjected to harassment or bullying in your workplace

15

17

Women

As at June 2014, 58.0% of the APS workforce was female (57.6% of ongoing employees and 61.6% of non-ongoing employees). This representation declines the more senior the position, with ongoing women comprising 40.1% of the ongoing SES in 2014 (up from 39.7% in 2013).

Representation

Table A5.17 shows the representation of women in the APS from 2010 to 2014. As can be seen, the proportion of ongoing and non-ongoing women in the APS remained relatively stable this year at 58% (57.9% in 2013).

Table A5.17. Representation of women in the APS as at 30 June, 2010 to 2014

Employment type

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

%

Source: APSED

Female employees—ongoing and non-ongoing

94,964

57.8

95,730

57.6

96,880

57.6

96,664

57.9

92,230

58.0

Female employees—ongoing

86,717

57.4

88,076

57.4

88,367

57.3

87,517

57.5

84,078

57.6

Table A5.18 shows the representation of women in the APS by classification. In 2013–14, the largest proportion of ongoing and non-ongoing female employees was at the APS 4 level (68.8%) and the lowest proportion of female employees was at the SES 3 level (30.5%).

Table A5.18. Representation of women in the APS by classification as at 30 June, 2014

Classification

Female employees—ongoing and non-ongoing

Female employees—ongoing

N

% of classification

N

% of classification

Source: APSED

Trainee

205

54.7

201

54.6

Graduate

569

49.1

568

49.0

APS 1

3,238

65.2

427

53.8

APS 2

3,198

61.5

2,140

65.9

APS 3

12,869

66.1

10,469

65.6

APS 4

21,229

68.8

20,665

69.1

APS 5

12,658

59.6

12,298

59.4

APS 6

18,064

55.2

17,619

55.3

EL 1

13,845

49.6

13,507

49.7

EL 2

5,312

42.0

5,158

42.2

SES 1

807

41.4

793

41.6

SES 2

197

35.6

194

36.5

SES 3

39

30.5

39

33.3

Total

92,230

58.0

84,078

57.6

Engagements and separations

In 2014, women accounted for 55.1% of all ongoing separations from the APS, an increase from 53.9% in the previous year. Women made up 55.6% of all ongoing APS engagements in 2013–14, a slight decrease from 57.6% the previous year.

Figure A5.13 shows ongoing female engagements to, and separations from, the APS as a proportion of all engagements and separations.

Key employee census results for male and female employees in 2014 are shown in Table A5.19. These results demonstrate that, similar to men, women had generally positive employment experiences. However, women reported higher levels of satisfaction with the senior leadership in their agency (55% compared with 48%). They were also more likely than their male colleagues to agree they are fairly remunerated for the work they do (72% compared to 62%).

Female employees were also more likely to report that they had been bullied or harassed in the past 12 months than male employees (19% compared with 13%). Women, however, were more likely to indicate they reported the behaviour than men (39% compared with 33%).

I am fairly remunerated (e.g. salary, superannuation) for the work I do

72

62

The people in my work group are accepting of people from diverse backgrounds

88

88

In my agency, the senior leadership is of a high quality

55

48

During the last 12 months, have you been subjected to harassment or bullying in your workplace

19

13

Women in senior leadership

For the second consecutive year, the agency survey asked agencies to report on the representation of women in their senior leadership group. Rather than reporting by classification level such as SES Band 2 or SES Band 3, agencies reported by level of hierarchy:

agency head

direct report to agency head (AH –1)

direct report to those who report directly to the agency head (AH –2).

This reporting format was put in place to reflect the reporting recommendations made by the Male Champions of Change to ASX 200 companies. The following tables show this data by agency for large, medium and small agencies. This data is discussed in Chapter 5.

Table A5.20. Representation of women in senior leadership for small agencies, 2013 and 2014

Footnotes

1 Each year APS agencies provide workforce data, including diversity data, to APSED. If the employee moves to another agency that has not provided this information to APSED, the previous data is retained in APSED.

7 The definition of employees from a non-English speaking background differs between the APSED and employee census definitions.

Connect with APSC

The Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) is a central agency within the Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio. The Commission supports two statutory office holders: the Australian Public Service Commissioner - who is also agency head - and the Merit Protection Commissioner. Their functions are set out in sections 41(1) and 50(1), respectively, of the Public Service Act 1999.